Lance Armstrong met with USADA officials in December to discuss a public confession. / Damian Dovarganes AP

by Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

by Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

Less than two months after he left the sports world in disgrace, Lance Armstrong was already trying to resurrect his image.

He met with U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart for more than an hour in early to mid-December to discuss the possibility of a public admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions during his long career, two people with knowledge of the meeting said Wednesday.

"He came into the meeting basically wanting to compete as soon as possible, and wanting to do whatever it would take to do that," said one of the people, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the talks were supposed to remain confidential. "He left understanding that it would take much more than an apology, and even then, it could take years to have a chance to come back."

The people would not disclose the location of the meeting, which took place at the behest of Armstrong and his advisers, who belligerently rebuffed a similar meeting in June as part of USADA's investigation into the disgraced former seven-time Tour de France winner.

In October, USADA released its findings, a massive file of evidence against Armstrong. Since then sponsors have dropped him and he has had to compete in small non-sanctioned events.

"I believe he is giving serious consideration to confessing to the American people," said the other person with information about the meeting. "That said, if I were his attorney, I don't think I would give my client permission to confess to the American people. It would open up all kinds of possible legal action and the civil suits that are out there and could be out there in the future."

Armstrong's longtime lawyer, Tim Herman, told USA TODAY Sports last week that there were no ongoing discussions with USADA, as had been reported by the New York Times on Friday. He did not return a phone message and e-mail Wednesday.

Were Armstrong to personally confess to years of cheating, that by itself would have no effect on his lifetime banishment from participating in sanctioned sporting events. (He is 41 and already retired from cycling. He has competed far below the Olympic level in marathons and triathlons.)

If Armstrong were to give USADA and World Anti-Doping Agency "new" information on others who are cheating, it's possible his ban could be reduced to eight years, which would nearly bring him to his 50th birthday. Any further reduction is not covered in the WADA rules and would require the agreement of WADA and cycling's international federation.

According to one of the people with knowledge about the meeting, Armstrong left well aware of what is required of him: giving USADA as much detailed, new information as he has about doping in sports.

On Jan. 17, Oprah Winfrey is scheduled to air a 90-minute interview with Armstrong. While no details of the interview have been released, one option for Armstrong would be to issue a "general apology" with no specifics of what exactly he is apologizing for, just as former New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi did nearly eight years ago.

But one of the people with knowledge of the December meeting expects Armstrong to seek sympathy and try to enhance the Livestrong brand in the Oprah interview, even if he confesses to years of cheating.